Machine for the manufacture of ropes, cords, knitting wool, and the like



July 19, 1949. M. KAPLINSKY MACHINE FOR THE MANUFACTURE OF ROPES, CORDS, KNITTING WOOL AND THE LIKE 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Feb. 20, 1946 July 19, 1949.. Ns Y 2,476,736

MACHINE FOR THE MANUFACTURE OF ROPES,

CORDS, KNITTING WOOL AND THE LIKE Filed Feb. 20, 1946 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 2 INVENTOR,

BY Ms M Patented July 19, 1949 MACHINE FOR THE MANUFACTURE OF ROPES, CORDS, KNITTING WOOL, AND

THE LIKE Morris Kaplinsky, Cape Town, Cape of Good Hope, Union of South Africa Application February 20, 1946, Serial No. 649,047 In the Union of South Africa June 28, 1945 1 Claim.

This invention relates to machines for the manufacture of ropes, cords, knitting wool or the like.

As is well known, there are several distinct processes involved in the preparation and manufacture of the aforesaid goods. The yarn has first to be spun whereafter it is twisted, stranded and laid and, hitherto, it has always been necessary to spin the slivers on one machine, twist or strand the yarn on a second machine and employ a third machine for the laying process.

The object of the present invention is to overcome this disadvantage and provide a single machine capable of carrying out all the required processes.

According to the invention, therefore, I provide a machine for the manufacture of ropes, cords, knitting wool and the like comprising a plurality of groups of spindles, all the spindles save one in each group being adapted to rotate in the same direction and the odd spindle in each group being rotatable in the opposite direction.

The number of groups of spindles employed will vary according to the output desired and the space available and the number of spindles in each group may be from two to five.

According to a further feature of the invention, I provide means for driving the aforesaid spindles comprising a sprocket wheel operatively connected to each spindle and an endless chain adapted to cause rotation of the said sprockets. The chain itself may be driven by any suitable means, mechanical or manual but where mechanical means is employed I may provide means for varying the speed of travel of the chain so as to enable a wide variet of tasks to be performed on the same machine.

According to still another feature of the invention, the spindles may be disposed at different heights from their mounting to ensure that the sprockets are gripped firmly by the chain. In addition, one or more of the spindles may be adjustable in height so as to permit any slack in the chain to be taken up when required.

In order that the invention and the manner in which the same is to be performed may be more fully understood, a preferred embodiment will now be described purely by way of example and in no restrictive sense whatsoever, with reference to the accompanying drawings in which:

Fig. 1 is a. perspective view of a machine according to the invention.

Fig. 2 is a section on the line IIII in Fig. 1.

Fig. 3 is a part-sectional elevation of a spindle together with the mounting therefor.

Referring to Figs. 1 and 2, the machine comprises a bed I whereon is mounted a semicircular steel arch 2. Disposed equidistantly around the circumference of th arch 2 at different heights therefrom and projecting at right angles to the plane thereof are a plurality of spindles 3 and 4 (hereinafter described in further detail with reference to Fig. 3), carried by brackets 5. In the machine illustrated, the number of spindles is thirty-two and they are divided into eight groups of four each designated generally by the reference letters A to H. The spindles 3 and 4 carry sprockets 6 driven by an endless chain 7, the arrangement being such that the spindles 3 all rotate in one direction and the spindles 4 in the opposite direction.

Driving power is supplied by a motor 8 and a fast-and-loose pulley 9 facilitates control and enables the machine to be stopped or started as required. The pulley 9 is mounted on a shaft [0 at the opposite extremity of which is carried a pinion ll meshing with a spur wheel 12. The shaft [3 which carries the spur wheel l2 also carries a sprocket l4 and the drive is transmitted via a chain 15 to a shaft I6 on which are mounted sprockets l1 and I8. The endless chain 1 engages with the sprocket l8.

The pinion II and the spur wheel I2 are removable and by replacing them by gears of different ratios, the speed of the machine can be varied as desired.

The centre spindle 3a is mounted on the arch by means of a bracket l9 and a pin 20. Said pin 20 is threaded at 2| and provided with bolts 22 so that the height of the spindle 3a from the arch can be adjusted to provide the correct tension in the chain 1.

Referring now to Fig. 3, the spindles each comprise a sleeve 23 keyed to a shaft 24 by a pin 25. Said sleeve 23 is provided at its outward extremity with a hook member 26 slotted at 21 and formed with a notch 28 for the firm retention of the end of the yarn or equivalent therein. The shaft 24 also carries a sprocket 6 secured thereto by a grub-screw 29 and is mounted in anti-friction bearings disposed on the bracket 5.

When employing the machine for the manufacture of knitting wool, the slivers are spun on the forward spindles and the subsequent twisting (which has to be done in a direction opposite to that of the spinning) is performed on the reverse spindles. In the manufacture of cord or rope, the yarn is spun on the forward spindles whereafter it is stranded or twisted and laid by the reverse spindles, since the latter tasks have always to be carried out in a direction opposite to that in which the yarn is spun.

It will be appreciated that with my machine it is possible to manufacture with far more speed and expedition than hitherto, with a consequent increase in output and reduction in the cost of production. Moreover, by varying the speed of the machine cords and ropes of widely varying sizes can be provided. For example, if the speed is variable between 500 and 11,000 revolutions per minute of the spindles, the diameter of the products may be varied between & and 4".

Various modifications may be made in the invention without departing from the scope thereof. For instance, instead of employing a semi circular arch to carry the spindles; 'a horizontal bar may be used.

Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said invention, andin what manner the same is to be performed, I deelare that what I claim is:

"A machine for the manufacture of ropes, cords, knitting wool and the like 'compriisng a support; aplurality of groups'of rotatable spindlesj'supporting brackets each rotatably holding one of said rotatable spindles and mounted on said support; adjusting means for adjusting the position of at least one of said brackets so as to adjust the distance of said spindle from said support; a plurality of sprocket wheels each connected to one of said spindles; an endless chain engaging said sprocket wheels so as to be adapted to rotate all the spindles save one in ach group in the same direction and the odd spindle in each group in the opposite direction; means for driving said endless chain; and means for varying the speed of said driving means so as to adjust the speed of rotation of said spindles.

M. KAPLINSKY.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the 'file or this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 9,991 Avis Apr. 7, 1891 2,326,621 Corda Aug. 10. 1943 FOREIGN PATENTS Number I Country Date 44,691 Germany Mar. 30, 1888 

